Three in Four Occupiers Plan to Expand Office Portfolios in India Over Next Two Years: CBRE
New Delhi, August 20, 2026: Corporate occupiers in the Indian office market are entering a phase of conviction-led growth, with three in every four planning to expand their real estate portfolios over the next two years, according to CBRE South Asia Pvt. Ltd.’s 2026 India Office Occupier Survey.
The eighth edition of the annual study revealed that 30% of respondents plan to grow their office space by more than 30% over the same period, up from 18% in the previous year. Conducted between April and June 2026, the survey surveyed occupiers on their two-year portfolio expectations, where the most aggressive expansion category recorded the sharpest movement.
Nearly half of the surveyed occupiers plan to expand their footprint by combining business growth with expansion and consolidation strategies, while approximately a quarter intend to renew their existing leases.
“India’s office occupiers are expanding with conviction. When nearly a third of occupiers are planning to grow their footprint by more than a third, that reflects a structural rather than cyclical shift in how corporates are approaching their India real estate strategy. Coming at a time when the office sector’s stock has crossed the 1-billion-square-feet milestone, this signals sustained confidence in India as a long-term destination for corporate growth,” said Anshuman Magazine, Chairman & CEO – India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE.
“What stands out this year is the breadth of this expansion, which is not confined to any single sector or region of origin with appetite grounded in operational need. About 63% of the large-sized occupiers plan to expand + consolidate in the next two years and we are likely to see this translate into active requirements across both established and emerging micro-markets,” said Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Leasing Services, India, CBRE.
The Indian office market registered strong performance in recent quarters, with gross leasing reaching 24.6 million square feet in Q2 2026, marking an 18% sequential increase and a 14% year-on-year rise. This brought total gross absorption in H1 2026 to 45.5 million square feet, roughly 10% ahead of H1 2025 levels. Global Capability Centres accounted for 42% of the quarterly absorption at 10.3 million square feet, followed by flex operators at 27% and Fortune 500 occupiers at 28% (6.8 million square feet).
